JOHNSON CITY (Nov. 2, 2012) – The ETSU men’s basketball team will make its first official debut in exhibition game action Saturday afternoon, as the Buccaneers take on Carson-Newman at 4 p.m. inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.

With a roster that includes four freshmen, two sophomores and two junior college transfers, the Buccaneers boast a team that has talent but not a lot of Division I experience. ETSU fans will be treated to a group that includes plenty of fresh faces.

For more on the game – which will be played during ETSU’s Saturday Homecoming events – read the game notes located below or click on the game notebook link above.

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For more on the ETSU men’s basketball team throughout the 2012-13 season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s hoops link.

Game Notes

We are “ETSU”

The ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics would like to ask both the print and broadcast media to honor our request to be called “ETSU” ... East Tennessee State in first reference is acceptable, but subsequent references should be ETSU ... On TV graphics please use ETSU ... Our nickname is the Buccaneers, but Bucs is also acceptable.

ETSU 2012-13 team preview

After several years of quality returning players and at least some level of certainty regarding what to expect heading into the winter months, the 2012-13 ETSU men’s basketball team will enter the new campaign with several questions and concerns. ... The loss of standout seniors such as Adam Sollazzo (Tampa), Isiah Brown (Miami, Fla.) and Tommy Hubbard (Boston) will be hard to overcome, considering that group combined for a total of 3,091 points in their careers. A year ago, the Bucs enjoyed quality wins such as a road victory over Atlantic 10 Conference foe Charlotte, and finished with a respectable 17 victories on the season. The team finished fourth in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings at 10-8, reaching the league tournament semifinals. ... This season, the Bucs top two returning starters are guards Sheldon Cooley (Tampa) and Marcus Dubose (Hartsville, S.C.), who both combined to score 19.7 points per game a year ago. Along with those two, fellow guard Jarvis Jones (Memphis) and forward Lukas Poderis (Port Richey, Fla.) are the only other ETSU players to be returning after playing significant minutes last year. ... With so few returning, experienced players, ETSU will be looking to some unproven returning players, as well as a recruiting class that includes three incoming freshmen and a pair of junior college transfers, to come in and make an immediate impact. Sophomores Rashawn Rembert (Tampa) and John Walton (Memphis), along with redshirt freshman Lester Wilson (Knoxville) are expected to increase their production this year, while true freshmen guards Petey McClain (Mobile, Ala.), Mario Stramaglia (Birmingham, Ala.), and Yunio Barrueta (Miami, Fla.) will look to blossom into early contributors. ... On the interior, Poderis and Walton will need help from junior college transfers Kinard Gadsden-Gilliard (Georgetown, S.C.) and Hunter Harris (Nashville). While they may have plenty of questions entering the season, the Bucs’ schedule will not provide much patience for development. The team will face teams such as North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss and Georgia in the opening weeks of the season, and will host 2011 Final Four participant VCU (Jan. 2) just days before the start of the Atlantic Sun Conference slate. The team will also enjoy a Christmas holiday trip to the Diamond Head Classic and face Arizona in the first round of that event on Dec. 22.

Last time out

MACON, Ga. (March 2, 2012) – After building a five-point halftime lead, the ETSU men’s basketball team was unable to stop a second-half offensive surge by the Belmont Bruins and ultimately dropped a hard fought 69-61 contest in the semifinals of the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Championships inside Mercer’s University Center. ... It was the first time in 15 straight games that the Bruins (26-7 overall) had faced a halftime deficit ... The Buccaneers were led by a team-high 16 points from senior guard Adam Sollazzo (Tampa), while fellow senior guard Tommy Hubbard (Boston) and junior guard Marcus Dubose (Hartsville, S.C.) netted 15 points apiece. ... In the first half, the Bucs played inspired basketball, out-rebounding the Bruins 21-12 and holding one of the nation’s top offenses to 36.4 percent shooting. The Bucs – who outscored Belmont 18-6 in the paint during the first 20 minutes – only trailed once at 8-7, but ultimately led by as many as eight points before the intermission. ... After the break, the Bruins opened with an 11-3 run and later used another 15-6 surge to make it 54-42 with just over eight minutes left in the game. ETSU did not crack though, putting together its own 14-5 run to make it 59-56 with 2:55 left in the game. ... At that point, a made 3-pointer by Belmont’s Kerron Johnson was decisive and put Belmont back on top by six with 2:32 left. However, the Bucs later had a chance to get within two points with 23 seconds remaining, but trailing 66-61 a 3-point attempt by Dubose rimmed out and effectively ended ETSU’s chances.

The series versus Carson-Newman

The Bucs and Eagles have been playing basketball games since 1920, and in total the two squads have played 52 regular season games ... While Saturday’s game is an exhibition, the Bucs hold a 32-20 advantage in regular season meetings and have won the last five against C-N.

Last time out against Carson-Newman

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 5, 2011) – A relentless full-court defense and solid shooting from beyond the 3-point line helped power the ETSU men’s basketball team to a decisive 87-59 win over Carson-Newman in exhibition basketball action Saturday afternoon inside the ETSU-MSHA Athletic Center. ... The Buccaneers were forced to play their final preseason game shorthanded, as senior guard Adam Sollazzo (Tampa), junior guard Marcus Dubose (Hartsville, S.C.) and junior forward Lukas Poderis (Port Richey, Fla.) all sat out with injuries. However, ETSU made up for those absences by forcing 24 turnovers and getting double-figure scoring from four other players. ... Senior post Isiah Brown (Miami, Fla.) finished with a double-double thanks to his 19-point, 12-rebound effort, while junior guard Jarvis Jones (Memphis) also posted a 19-point game. In addition, junior guard Sheldon Cooley (Tampa) netted 17 points and dished out seven assists, while freshman guard Rashawn Rembert (Tampa) scored 14 points in his ETSU debut. ... For the game, the Bucs out-rebounded the Eagles 44-27 and enjoyed a 20-7 advantage on points off turnovers. In addition, ETSU shot 41 percent from 3-point range, while holding C-N to just 38 percent from the floor and 25 percent from beyond the arc.

Bartow stands atop list of second generation coaches

Murry Bartow’s coaching lineage is undeniable ... As the son of the late Gene Bartow, he had the fortunate opportunity to grow up learning from one of the most successful basketball coaches in college history ... Setting off on his own career, Murry has carried on the family tradition of success ... His 61 percent winning percentage at ETSU makes him the winningest Buccaneers’ head coach by percentage, and his 179 career wins ranks second on the ETSU all-time list ... In addition, Murry’s 282 career victories ranks No. 1 among second generation college coaches, besting the 252 wins by John Thompson III ... Along with his father’s 647 career wins, the Bartow men have combined for 929 victories, ranking fourth on the all-time win list for Father/Son coaches.

Talented Bucs still face obstacle with experience

At no time in the tenure of ETSU head coach Murry Bartow have the Buccaneers had less experience ... This season, the team has 13 active players on the roster and only 13 total years of Division I experience combined among all those student-athletes ... On average, that’s just one year of experience per player on average ... With four freshmen and two sophomores that means that nearly half the team are “underclassmen.”

Bucs ranked 2nd, Cooley 12th in steals a year ago

Key to the Bucs’ success last year was the ability to swipe the ball from opponents ... Senior Sheldon Cooley (Tampa) returns this season after ranking 12th nationally with 2.48 steals per game, and as a team, the Bucs ranked second nationally with 10.2 steals per game.

Dubose to be counted on to provide offensive spark

Last season, senior guard Marcus Dubose (Hartsville, S.C.) ranked third on the team with an average of 10.8 points per game ... Those numbers were solid for a first-year junior college transfer, and he also posted statistics such as 16 games of double-figure scoring and six games of 20-plus points ... However, consistency was an issue at times for Dubose, who also posted nine games of five points or less ... Head coach Murry Bartow has publicly stated that a key to the Bucs’ success this season will be having Dubose become a more consistent offensive threat.

Home Sweet Dome ... against non-conference teams

Since the 1996-97 season, the Buccaneers are an amazing 153-48 overall inside Memorial Center, good for a winning percentage of 77 percent ... But when looking at the past 11 years, the Bucs are an even more impressive 46-4 against non-conference opponents ... Last year, the Bucs went 10-3 overall at the Dome and a perfect 4-0 against non-conference opponents.

Bucs have tradition of postseason appearances, success

The ETSU men’s basketball team has enjoyed its share of postseason success and ranks as one of the nation’s most prestigious basketball programs ... The Buccaneers have earned berths to the NCAA Tournament nine times (1969, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010) and NIT twice (1983, 2007) ... In 2011, the Bucs made their first ever appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, winning twice and advancing to the semifinals of that event ... It was the program’s 12th postseason tournament appearance all-time.

ETSU picked among nation’s best “Prestige” programs

Since the beginning of the modern era for NCAA Division I-A basketball – marked by the expansion of the NCAA Tournament field to 64 teams in 1984-85 – the ETSU men’s basketball program ranks in the Top 30 percent of the 300 programs that were eligible for the postseason at that time, this according to ESPN.com’s “Prestige” ranking released back in 2008 ... Since that time, the Bucs have only added to their list of prestigious honors … The Buccaneers -- who have enjoyed nine NCAA Tournament trips, one NIT and one CIT berth, 14 20-win seasons, and a slew of conference regular season and tournament championships since 1984-85 -- ranked tied for 82nd out of 300 teams, meaning they were in the Top 27 percent of schools making the list. ETSU was ranked ahead of every current Atlantic Sun Conference team, as well as former Southern Conference rivals Appalachian State, Western Carolina, Georgia Southern and UNC Greensboro. In addition, the Bucs ranked ahead of SEC schools such as Tennessee, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Georgia, Mississippi and Auburn, as well as programs such as Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, DePaul, Bradley, Clemson, California and Florida State.